The Death of the Newspaper

Earlier this week my colleague Michael stopped by to show me the front page of Monday's The Wall Street Journal. It had big headlines about the turmoil roiling the financial markets and a story that Lehman might soon be bankrupt. His comment was that it was all old news, and that it illustrated why the printed newspaper was obsolete. (By the time he read it, Lehman had decided to seek bankruptcy protection.) I think he is right. I used to spend an hour or two a day in the library reading magazines and newspapers. Now I almost never visit the library. I spend that time visiting magazines and newspapers and blogs on-line. By the time it is printed and distributed, the news in print is no longer news. Further, print does not allow the extensive linking that is a major attraction of on-line material.